Circle.so is a cloud-based platform known for its features as an online community builder that has gained popularity.
The platform offers various tools for building and expanding your online community, including organized discussions, private messaging, events, live streams, and online courses.
The features of Circle vary greatly depending on the pricing tiers, which can make it challenging to determine the most suitable option for your needs.
This pricing guide provides a comprehensive overview of Circle.so’s pricing plans, as well as a comparison with its competitors and their respective plans.
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How Much Does Circle Cost?
Circle provides a variety of pricing options, including five different plans. Refer to the table below for a comparison of monthly and yearly rates.
Typically, paying for a whole year in advance can result in substantial savings, however, we suggest starting with a monthly plan to test out all the features before committing.
In addition to the monthly cost, Circle also applies a transaction fee of 0.5% to 4% based on your plan when processing payments through their platform.
All plans come with a 14-day trial period to give you the opportunity to test out Circle before making a commitment.
Now, let’s examine each of these plans in more detail.
How Do the Circle.so Pricing Plans Compare?
Basic Plan: $49/month
The Basic plan is priced at $49 per month and includes essential features for community building.
- Core community-building tools, including spaces and posts
- Group chats and private messaging
- Directory of active members
- Ability to use your own domain
- Free Circle mobile app for end users
- Customer support via email
It includes integration with platforms such as Teachable and MemberSpace for single sign-on.
The Basic plan includes a custom domain and essential features for launching a community platform, creating spaces, and starting engagement, but it also comes with certain limitations.
- You can only have up to 100 members.
- You can have just one admin and one moderator.
- The storage is limited to 10 GB.
- Circle charges a transaction fee of 4% for this plan.
- You can’t create online courses.
The Basic plan is a recommended option for creators who are launching a new community to test their platform.
Professional Plan: $99/month
The Professional plan from Circle is priced at $99 per month and offers enhanced features compared to the Basic plan. It is widely used and considered a cost-effective option.
In addition to the features offered in the Basic plan, such as group chat rooms and direct messaging, the Professional plan includes upgrades aimed at enhancing member engagement.
- Circle’s online course builder
- Ability to live stream natively
- Advanced analytics
- SSO integration with more platforms (e.g., WordPress)
- Ability to completely white-label the platform
The Professional plan offers greater service limits compared to the Basic plan, such as the ability to host a community with unlimited members.
The increased limits included in Circle’s Professional plan are as follows:
Business Plan: $219/month
The Business plan is available at a cost of $219 per month and offers advanced community management tools and automations.
The Business plan includes additional features beyond those offered in the Professional plan, such as the course builder and SSO integrations.
- Bulk actions and automation workflows
- Customizable profile fields
- Circle Community AI
- Public API access
- Email white-labeling
- Free course migration service (on annual plans)
The Business plan further increases the limits available in your account. The table below shows the features with increased limits.
Enterprise Plan: $399/month
Circle’s Enterprise plan is priced at $399 per month and is designed for creators and brands with larger online communities.
In addition to the features included in the Business plan, you will also receive:
- Custom single sign-on
- Ability to create a sandbox community
- Priority email support
- A dedicated customer service manager (if you choose the annual plan)
In addition to the new features, there are also limit increases included.
In conclusion, this plan does not offer any exclusive community or course-related features, making it unnecessary for individual creators to upgrade.
For larger communities, the Enterprise plan may be a better option to consider.
Circle Plus: Custom Pricing
Circle Plus is an additional plan offered by the platform, with pricing that is not publicly disclosed but is estimated to be around $30,000 per year.
Circle Plus offers branded iOS and Android mobile apps for communities, which are built, published, maintained, and updated by the Circle team on the App Store and Google Play Store.
The Plus plan offers features like course migration and increased community limits, with a primary focus on providing mobile apps.
This plan is tailored for creators who are interested in branded community apps. Please reach out to the Circle team for details on pricing.
Circle’s Pricing Add-Ons
In addition to standard pricing plans, Circle offers supplementary add-ons that enable users to expand service limits without having to upgrade their plan.
There are options available to increase moderation in your community by paying $10 monthly for ten additional moderators. Additionally, you can extend your live-streaming hours by purchasing ten extra hours for $50/month.
Add-ons can be accessed with all pricing plans except for the Basic plan, and will be billed in addition to your monthly expenses.
Is Circle Expensive?
Circle is a popular community platform, however, there are other alternatives such as Mighty Networks worth considering when comparing capabilities and pricing.
In comparison, Circle offers more user-friendly features and functionality than Mighty Networks, including SSO integrations, public APIs, and workflows. To delve deeper into the distinctions between the two platforms, refer to this Circle vs Mighty Networks guide.
In terms of pricing, the Community plan from Mighty Networks starts at $39 per month, while Circle’s Basic plan is priced at $49 per month, making them relatively comparable.
Although the $10-lower price is attractive, Mighty Networks’ biggest advantage lies in its lowest-tier plan that offers unlimited members.
When comparing their most popular plans, both companies offer a similar set of features, although Circle has some advantages.
- The Professional plan on Circle is priced at $99 per month plus a 2% fee, which is lower than the cost of the Mighty Networks plan at $119 per month plus a 2% fee.
- Circle supports the removal of platform branding on this plan.
BuddyBoss is a competitor to Circle, offering a WordPress plugin that costs $228/year for a single website and up to $388/year for ten websites. It is important to note that BuddyBoss is not a hosted platform like Circle.
In addition to paying for hosting and plugins, there is a higher cost associated with this platform. It also has a more complex learning curve compared to Circle or other hosted platforms.
Circle.so: Comparing pricing with other alternatives
Circle.so is a popular online community platform known for its user-friendly interface and variety of community engagement features. Many businesses prefer Circle.so over competitors like Mighty Networks because of its competitive pricing and feature set.
Both Circle.so and Mighty Networks offer a Professional plan with different pricing. Circle.so is priced at $99 per month, while Mighty Networks starts at $119 per month. One advantage of Circle.so is the ability to fully customize the branding of your online communities. Both platforms have a 2% transaction fee.
Mighty Networks offers a basic plan priced at $39 per month, which is more cost-effective than Circle’s $49 per month basic plan. Additionally, Mighty Networks allows for unlimited members in your online community, while Circle has a limited capacity.
Is Circle.so right for you?
This review of Circle.so aims to assist in your decision-making process. While it is easy to find flaws in software, as someone who has used Circle.so for over 2 years for my community, I can say that it is a great choice if you are looking to create a robust asynchronous community with minimal hassle.
Switch to Circle.so allowed me to save money by consolidating services like webinars, video calls, and course hosting, as all the necessary features were already included.
Circle Pricing – Final Thoughts
This guide explored Circle’s pricing plans and the features offered in each. We aim to assist you in selecting the most suitable plan. Let’s now outline our recommendations.
For those beginning a new community, the Basic plan is a suitable starting point.
In comparison, the Professional plan is recommended for most creators due to its support for unlimited members and inclusion of crucial features like course hosting and livestreaming capabilities.
For established brands with a large community management team or the need for advanced tools like Workflows, it is recommended to consider the Business plan or the Enterprise plan.
To access branded apps for your community, upgrading to the Plus plan is required.
If you have further questions regarding Circle.so pricing, please feel free to leave a comment below.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does Circle cost?
Circle offers four pricing plans, including the Basic plan for $49/month or $468/year and the Professional plan for $99/month or $1,068/year, which is the most popular option.
Does Circle charge a transaction fee?
Circle charges transaction fees ranging from 4% on the Basic plan to 0.5% on the Enterprise plan.
How many community members can I have in a Circle community?
The Basic plan allows for up to 100 active members in your Circle community, while the Professional, Business, and Enterprise plans offer unlimited members.
Is the Circle app free to use?
The Basic plan allows for up to 100 active members in your Circle community, while the Professional, Business, and Enterprise plans offer unlimited members.
Do I need a credit card to access the free trial?
Users can access Circle’s 14-day free trial by simply creating an account, without needing to provide credit card information.
Does Circle have a money-back guarantee?
Circle offers a 30-day 100% money-back guarantee for customers who wish to receive a refund. If you decide to change your mind about Circle, simply contact their team to request a full refund.
How can Circle.so help me build a thriving community?
Circle.so offers features like community AI, live streams, and mobile app access to assist in creating and managing an online community, promoting engagement among members.
What is the best way to choose a plan on Circle.so?
When selecting a plan on Circle.so, it is important to consider your specific needs and the features necessary for your community or business. It is recommended to utilize the free trial and compare the features of various plans to make a well-informed decision.
Is Circle.so suitable for brands and businesses?
Circle.so is a platform designed to meet the needs of brands and businesses seeking to create and manage online communities, host courses, and provide paid memberships, making it a viable option for those specific purposes.
